Essay On Rene Descartes

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“It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.” – René Descartes
The Renowned seventeenth century French philosopher René Descartes is today widely regarded as being “the father of modern philosophy” (Stokes, 2012: 124). Descartes had a profound impact on philosophical thought. He presented a unique, distinctive view of knowledge which remains highly significant to this day. His radical new philosophy greatly altered mankind’s perceptions of knowledge and permanently cemented his status as one of the most prominent philosophers in history.
Descartes’ most famous work, Meditations on First Philosophy, “set the agenda for speculation in the philosophy of mind and epistemology for the next three hundred years” (Stokes, 2012:124). Descartes raised serious issues about our knowledge of the world. He suggests the only thing one can be absolutely sure of is the fact of one’s own existence, an insight beautifully summed up in his most famous statement: Cogito ergo sum, “I think, therefore I am.” (Stokes, 2012).
In stark contrast to Empiricists like David Hume, Descartes bestows very little conviction upon the senses. He argues that as our senses have misled us in the past and so consequently, they are incapable of providing us with true, infallible knowledge. Descartes even goes as far as to proclaim that there is no clear, distinct way of distinguishing waking reality from dreaming (Stokes, 2012: 126). So, dismissing all perceptual knowledge, Descartes began his quest for indubitable knowledge.
“Descartes’s life aim was of directing his reason to the systematic discovery of truth and the elimination of error” (Scruton, 1995). Although Descartes mistrusted the information received through the senses, he did b...

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...a new science, one grounded in observation and experiment.” (Rene Descartes, 2002).
An interesting testament to Descartes enduring influence is the many contemporary criticisms of his work (Rene Descartes, 2002). That so many major contemporary thinkers continue to rigorously analyse and scrutinize Descartes, actually serves to demonstrate what an important role he has established in the foundations of our modern belief systems.
What René Descartes contributes to modernity is a solution to mankind’s infinite quest for indubitable knowledge. He presents a model for reasoning and an assurance that certainty is a reality which can be logically achieved. From his famed cogito, Descartes offers us a unique and original perception of knowledge. Thanks to Descartes, we have a method of establishing certainty that will continue to remain highly influential and relevant.

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